Isaiah 59
1 Behold, the hand of YHWH Has not been shortened from saving, Nor His ear heavy from hearing.
Behold, the Lord's hand is not too short to save; neither his ear too heavy for hearing;
2 But your iniquities have been separating Between you and your God, And your sins have hidden The Presence from you—from hearing.
But your iniquities have ever made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have caused him to hide his face from you, so that he would not hear.
3 For your hands have been defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity, Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters perverseness.
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue uttereth deception.
4 There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.
No one admonisheth with righteousness, and no one executeth justice in truth; men trust in naught, and speak lies; they have conceived mischief, and bring forth wickedness.
5 They have hatched eggs of a viper, And weave webs of a spider, Whoever is eating their eggs dies, and the crushed hatches a viper.
Basilisk's eggs do they hatch, and spider's webs do they weave: he that eateth of their eggs must die, and if one be crushed, a viper will break forth.
6 Their webs do not become a garment, Nor do they cover themselves with their works, Their works [are] works of iniquity, And a deed of violence [is] in their hands.
Their webs cannot serve for garments, and they cannot clothe themselves with their works: their works are works of wickedness, and the deed of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, And they hurry to shed innocent blood, Their thoughts [are] thoughts of iniquity, Spoiling and destruction [are] in their highways.
Their feet run to what is evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness; wasting and destruction are on their highways.
8 They have not known a way of peace, And there is no judgment in their paths, They have made their paths perverse for themselves, None treading in it has known peace.
The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice on their tracks: their paths they have made unto themselves crooked; whosoever walketh therein knoweth not peace.
9 Therefore judgment has been far from us, And righteousness does not reach us, We wait for light, and behold, darkness, For brightness—in thick darkness we go,
Therefore is justice far from us, nor will happiness overtake us: we ever hope for light, but behold there is darkness; for brightness, but in obscurity must we walk.
10 We feel [for] the wall like the blind, Indeed, we feel as without eyes, We have stumbled at noon as at twilight, In desolate places as the dead.
We grope like the blind on the wall, and as if we had no eyes do we grope: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; we are in complete darkness like the dead.
11 We make a noise as bears—all of us, And we coo severely as doves; We wait for judgment, and there is none, For salvation—it has been far from us.
We growl all of us like bears, and like doves do we moan sorely; we ever hope for justice, but there is none; for aid, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have been multiplied before You, And our sins have testified against us, For our transgressions [are] with us, And our iniquities—we have known them.
For our transgressions are numerous in thy presence, and our sins testify against us; for of our transgressions are we aware; and our iniquities—we know them;
13 Transgressing, and lying against YHWH, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostasy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood.
We transgressed and denied the Lord, and departed away from our God; we spoke oppression and revolt, conceived and brought forth in our heart words of falsehood.
14 And judgment is removed backward, And righteousness stands far off, For truth has been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,
And justice is forced to turn backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth stumbled in the street, and equity is not able to enter.
15 And the truth is lacking, And whoever is turning aside from evil, Is making himself a spoil. And YHWH sees, and it is evil in His eyes, That there is no judgment.
And thus is the truth missing; and he that departeth from evil is regarded as foolish: and the Lord saw it, and it was displeasing in his eyes that there was no justice.
16 And He sees that there is no man, And is astonished that there is no intercessor, And His own arm gives salvation to Him, And His righteousness—it sustained Him.
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought him aid, and his righteousness, —yea, this sustained him.
17 And He puts on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head, And He puts on garments of vengeance [for] clothing, And is covered, as [with] an upper-robe, [with] zeal.
And he put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and [placed] the helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance as raiment, and wrapped himself with zeal as with a cloak.
18 According to deeds—so He repays. Fury to His adversaries, [their] deed to His enemies, To the islands He repays [their] deed.
According to the demerits, so will he repay [all], fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands will he repay what they have merited.
19 And from the west they fear the Name of YHWH, And from the rising of the sun—His glory, When an adversary comes in as a flood, The Spirit of YHWH has raised an ensign against him.
And they shall fear from the west the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun his glory; for there shall come distress like the stream which the Spirit of the Lord urgeth forward.
20 “And the Redeemer has come to Zion, Even to captives of transgression in Jacob,” A declaration of YHWH.
But unto Zion shall come the redeemer, and unto those who return from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
21 “And I—this [is] My covenant with them,” said YHWH, “My Spirit that [is] on you, And My words that I have put in your mouth, Do not depart from your mouth, And from the mouth of your seed, And from the mouth of your seed’s seed,” said YHWH, “From now on, even for all time!”
And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy children, nor out of the mouth of thy children's children, saith the Lord, from henceforth and unto all eternity.
